EPA is committed to developing and promoting innovative cleanup strategies that restore contaminated sites to productive use, reduce costs, and promote environmental stewardship, while ensuring that cleanups are protective of human health and the environment. In accordance with EPA’s strategic plan for compliance and environmental stewardship, the Agency strives for cleanup programs that use natural resources and energy efficiently, reduce negative impacts on the environment, minimize pollution at its source, and reduce waste to the greatest extent possible. EPA supports the adoption of green remediation as the practice of considering all environmental effects of cleanup actions and incorporating strategies to maximize the net environmental benefit.

Green remediation results in effective cleanups minimizing the environmental and energy "footprints" of site remediation and reuse. Sustainable practices emphasize the need to more closely evaluate core elements of a cleanup project:

• Energy requirements of the treatment system,
• Air emissions,
• Water requirements and associated impacts on water resources,
• Impacts on land and ecosystems,
• Material consumption and waste generation, and
• Long-term stewardship actions.

Evolving Practices

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Altus Air Force
Base Solar
System

Former Nebraska
Ordnance Plant
Wind System

Fort Carson Solar
Array on Alternative
Landfill Cover

Alpine Pennycress
for Metal Extraction

Increasing concerns regarding climate change have prompted major efforts across the globe to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by activities such as fossil fuel consumption. EPA's strategic plan calls for significant reductions in GHG emissions as well as increases in energy efficiency, as required by federal mandates such as Executive Order 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management. Accordingly, one category of EPA’s evolving practices for green remediation places greater emphasis on approaches that reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. Another category focuses on related "greening" goals concerning water conservation. Best management practices (BMPs) include:

• Designing treatment systems with optimum efficiency, and modifying existing systems as needed,
• Using renewable sources such as wind and solar energy to meet power demands of energy-intensive treatment systems or auxiliary equipment,
• Generating electricity from byproducts such as methane gas or secondary materials,
• Participating in power generation or purchasing partnerships offering electricity from large-scale renewable resources,
• Minimizing fresh water consumption and maximizing water reuse during treatment processes,
• Preventing impacts such as nutrient loading on water quality in nearby water, and
• Reclaming treated water for beneficial use such as irrigation or for storage through aquifer reinjection.

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Building on Current Practices

Sustainable site cleanup and revitalization reflects sound decision-making that balances environmental, social, and economic factors. Green remediation builds on environmentally conscious practices already used by public agencies and within business sectors, and promotes incorporation of state-of-the art methods for:

• Conserving water,
• Improving water quality,
• Increasing energy efficiency,
• Managing and minimizing toxics,
• Managing and minimizing waste, and
• Reducing emission of criteria air pollutants and GHG.

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Where and When to Apply Green Remediation Strategies

Green remediation practices may be applied to cleanup actions taken at almost any hazardous waste site, whether conducted under federal, state, or local cleanup programs or by private parties. The practices apply holistically to all phases of site assessment, remediation, and reuse, including removal actions, site investigations, remedy construction, operation of treatment systems, monitoring of treatment processes and progress, and site close-out. To maximize sustainability, cleanup and reuse options are considered early in the planning process, enabling BMPs during remediation to carry forward. Green remediation strategies apply to all types of activities undertaken during all stages of a site cleanup and land revitalization project.

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Benefits of Green Remediation

Implementation of the best practices of green remediation results in a range
of benefits, :

• Reduction in fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions,
• Better conservation of water and other natural resources,
• Cost savings derived from improved efficiencies of energy-intensive treatment systems and from increased optimized use of passive-energy treatment systems,
• Educational opportunities regarding environmental stewardship and sustainable activities, and
• Regional employment opportunities associated with renewable-energy businesses formed at revitalized sites.

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Advancing the Use of Green Remediation Practices

To foster green remediation strategies, EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response is working with private and public partners to:

• Document the state of BMPs,
• Identify opportunities for improvement,
• Establish a community of BMP practitioners, and
• Develop mechanisms and tools facilitating the use of green practices.

Partners include other federal agencies such as the U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense, and Agriculture; state environmental agencies; and local development agencies or other organizations involved with site cleanup and revitalization.

To help site cleanup and reuse stakeholders make informed decisions about green remediation strategies, this web site provides documents and information links for:

• Case studies on green approaches already in place at hazardous waste sites and brownfields,
• Guidance and research reports on technical issues such as treatment system optimization, renewable energy sources, and site management techniques,
• Partnerships and opportunities enabling participation in renewable-energy mechanisms such as state incentive programs and regional power purchase agreements, and
• Links to related initiatives, organizations, references, and data sources.